


The Ten Things They Left Behind

by queen_of_hells_bells



Series: The Five-Step Guide [10]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, No Dialogue, Sad, all angst in this house, big sad, but mostly not, i guess, i guess i feel a little bad for Cas now?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 00:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11909421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_of_hells_bells/pseuds/queen_of_hells_bells
Summary: Exactly what it says on the tin, kids.This is part of a pretty long series and though you could read it alone I would necessarily recommend it.





	The Ten Things They Left Behind

1\. An old felt cowboy hat  
He'd left it in the back of the closet ages ago and there it still sat, the dust settling and making it even greyer than it had started out. It had been dropped there when Cas gave him a new hat, this one brown with a twisted leather cord around it. He'd gotten the grey one at a craft fair when he was 17 and, through the small holes dotting its edges, had made many impressive trick shots to impress the girls and Cas. He'd been so pleased with the new one and the way it was actually shaped like a cowboy hat and not a gray massless blob that he hadn't even been bothered with tossing the grey hat to the side. It was Cas who had saved it and placed it in the closet, teasing that he would hide Dean's new hat and leave the grey one in its place. It was Dean who called him out on it and then kissed him into silence.

_1\. A red satin bookmark_  
_Cas had been horrified to learn that Dean didn't use bookmarks, and even more horrified when he discovered that Dean wasn't using the ones that Cas gave him. They were all too bulky, taking up so much space in his book and falling out far too easily. He was good using old receipts or folding the pages. And then Cas had come home with a simple satin cord, tied off on either end with little clay beads, and Dean had fallen in love with it. He used it in every book since then, even when it was too large or too small to fit properly; and though now it was just a few pieces of frayed fabric, it was also the only thing he'd consciously taken with him when he ran._  
  
2\. Cassette tapes of George strait and Kenny chesney  
Dean hadn't actually thrown these away, just put them in a box by the side of the road with a little sign that read "free". Such a casual way to dispose of Cas' favorite country artists, it had infuriated the raven-haired man, but only for a moment. Instead he sighed, collected the box and the note, and tucked them into his passenger-side footwell. A month later, though, the memories of Dean, running a hand through his sun-kissed hair as he laughed at Cas slipping the worn tapes into the cassette player, saw Cas shoving the box into his closet alongside the hat.

_2\. A coffee card with seven punches_  
He'd pulled it out of his wallet instinctively when he got to the coffee shop in Memphis, causing an annoyance to the line when he stared a little too long at the card in his hand. Seven punches. They'd always gone to the coffee shop together, buying two drinks on the same card until they got to ten, and then splitting something ridiculous. It had been Cas' idea, something cute and silly for them to have for themselves, something to look forward to, and they traded off who held the card. And he'd gone alone the day he left. Seven punches. Dean's brain told him to rip it up and get it over with, but instead he found himself slipping it back into his wallet and ordering a black coffee.  
  
3\. A collection of Vonnegut short stories  
This had been left on Cas' bookshelf, something neither man could be blamed for: it was small, unobtrusive, and had therefore easily disappeared in Cas' mountains of books. Cas hadn't even realized it wasn't his until he opened it in a fit of nostalgia and noticed the inscription: "To Dean, may your imagination soar ever higher; happy birthday. All my love, Cas". It wasn't the first time Cas had cried over a book, nor was it the first time a book had stunned him into silence, but it was certainly the most he'd ever cared.

_3\. An instagram account with 2 pictures on it_  
Cas was convinced that, because Dean sometimes took pictures, that he had to post them on the internet. He'd made the account, set the whole thing up, and stood over Dean's shoulder the entire time he posted his first picture: a sunset over the ocean. It was horribly cliche, and Dean had had his revenge by making his second picture a horrible phot of Cas in the morning: bedhead, yawning, and practically melting into his mug of coffee. His favorite Cas photo. After that, Cas had never made him post another photo but he'd never deleted the app, just in case revenge was needed again. He'd almost deleted the damn thing a million times since he'd skipped town, but instead he sighed, hit the phone to his forehead, looked at the picture of Cas, and locked his phone.  
  
4\. A Damascus steel knife  
It had been a gift to Cas, who had been complaining that the scissors he bought never seemed to be sharp enough to open packages. It was a simple flip knife, but it was beautiful, and Cas had been entranced by it from the moment he'd first seen it, to the extent of Dean thinking he'd made a mistake in the gifting. But then Dean had taken to teaching Cas little knife tricks: how to flip it open without cutting his hand, how to throw it across the room and get it to stick in the space just between the window and the wall, even how to hold it in case he ever needed to protect himself. The little knife, kept in such pristine condition by its owner, was the best gift Cas had ever received, if for no reason other than the memories of him and Dean, both clutching their knives, laughing and practicing tricks until they were perfect.

_4\. A chili-shaped tire gauge  
Honestly he'd forgotten about the tire gauge. It had just always been there in the car. Cas had brought it for him on their second date, remembering Dean's complaining about not having one while he was nervous-date rambling. The damn thing barely worked and was only right about 12% of the time, but Dean had laughed so hard he'd cried when he saw it, and then threw it in the glove compartment alongside a newer one that actually worked 100% of the time. He always uses The Chili, though, before using his "boring old man gauge," and is always amused by just how wrong it always is.  
_  
5\. The ring  
Actually, he hadn't left the ring: he mailed it to Cas along with the letter, and it was all Cas needed to know that, no matter what Dean said, he wasn't coming back.  
  
_5\. Socks that say "ain't no bad joke like a dad joke"_  
He'd been wearing them the day he left, a horrible reminder of the time he'd told Cas to "make like a tree and never go anywhere," cause he loved him too much. The socks had appeared the next day and, much to Cas' pretend-displeasure, had created Dean's delighted post-joke catchphrase. He didn't tell many dad jokes anymore, what with not hanging out with Lili as much, but he still had his journal where he wrote down all the hits, and he added them whenever he heard them, saving them for when he next saw his family. He didn't wear the socks anymore, keeping them folded on the bottom of his suitcase. Just waiting.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright.
> 
> Firstly, my sincerest apologies for how fucking long this took me. I was trying to resolve it happily but I think I might...not do that.
> 
> Secondly, yeah, this might be where I end this. I marked the series as complete, and I might come back and add some stuff later, if I'm feeling it, but for now I'm pretty happy with where I left the boys, and honestly I feel like I have Cas all the chances that I could.
> 
> Thirdly, everyone who stuck with me through this shit, thank you. Y'all inspired this and pushed me through to finishing it, even though I'm pretty much the single most unreliable author ever. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart.


End file.
